Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 1, 1802).djvu/502

4 6S] CAU bud, on the branch, to the radicle, beneath the earth, and enduring the whiter hosts, without injur}-. When treating of vegetable ge- neration, and the organs of re- production, Dr. Darwin, in his '• PAytologia" mentions a remark- able animal fad, illustrative of this curious, and important subject: IMany insects, such as the common earth-worm, and the polypus, are said to possess so much lite, throughout a great part of their system, that they may be cut into two or more pieces, without de- stining them ; as each part will acquire a new head, or a new tail, or both; and the inse£t thus be- come multiplied. How ex this is resembled by the long cau- dex of .the buds of trees, which possess such vegetable life, from one extremity to tire other, that when the head, or plume, is lopped off, it can produce a new plume ; and when the lower part is cut off, it will generate new radicles ; and thus may be wonderfully propagated. See also Bud, Bulb, and Leaves. CAULIFLOWER, HieBotrytis, L. a varietyof theij?"ajjica oleracea, or sea-cabbage, a native of the Isle of Candia, but, of late years, has been so far improved in Britain, as to exceed, in size and flavour, those flowers which are produced in most parts of Europe. Cauliflowers are raised from seeds, which ought to be saved only from large, and white flow- ers : as, without this precaution, they will not prosper. The should be sown in March, in a rich, but not too dry soil, where the young plants, on their first sprouting out, may be sheltered i the evening frosts, which ally happen at. that si CAU About the middle of April, while in their first leaf, they should be transplanted into a nursery, five or six inches apart; where they must remain till the latter end of May, or the beginning of June, when it will be proper to remove them to those spots, in which they are intended to blossom. The best time for this purpose, is in wet weather, which will make them strike root quickly ; but if the season be dry, holes should be dug in the ground, at about three feet distance, which must be well wa- tered, previously to setting the cau- liflowers. By these means, and also by watering them frequently, during warm weather, the plants will grow rapidly, and produce large flowers in autumn. It some- times happens that, notwithstand- ing these precautions, they will not flower till after Michaelmas ; in which case they must be dug out, together with the earth at their roots, and set upright in a green- house, or other warm place, where the blossoms will increase in size, and be fit for use in winter. But, in order to have cauliflowers in the summer, a different mode of culti- vation must be pursued. To effect this, the seed should be sown in the beginning of August, on an old cucumber, or melon-bed, over which a little mould should be sifted, about a quarter of an inch thick; this should be shaded with mats, and occasionally watered, to prevent the sun from injuring the plants. About a month after sow- ing, they will be ii to " prick out, when they should be set four or five inches apart, either under a south wall, to remain there till spring, or in the places where they are destined to blossom, and cover- ed with glass bells during the se- verity